LOCAL

CAIR-Ohio calls for investigation after Muslim woman attacked in 'possible hate crime'

Columbus Dispatch

A Muslim woman was assaulted by multiple people outside her Franklinton apartment on March 20.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling for a hate crime investigation and for the assailants to be charged.
CAIR claims Columbus police were dismissive of the victim, who primarily speaks Somali, and did not take the incident seriously.

A Muslim advocacy group is calling for an investigation and the filing of criminal charges by Columbus police after video captured a Somali Muslim woman being assaulted by her neighbors in what the organization is calling a possible hate crime.

The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations posted a video to its YouTube channel on Tuesday showing a Muslim woman being assaulted by four people on March 20 at around 8 a.m. at the Southpark Apartments in Franklinton. The woman was returning from dropping off her kids at the bus stop for school.

The beginning of the video shows the Muslim woman surrounded by two women and a man as she argues with the man, who is standing on the landing of some stairs. One of the women then charges and punches the victim, and they briefly exchange blows before a second woman begins attacking the victim from behind.

The man also joins in the attack, and the video shows the three assailants beating on the Muslim woman, who is lying on the ground as she is pummeled.

A cellphone video captures two women and a man attacking a woman (in white, center) identified by CAIR-Ohio as a Somali Muslim on March 20, 2025 in Columbus. A fourth person, seen with a backpack and walking toward the attack, watches for a while before eventually guiding the woman in black at right away. CAIR-Ohio said the people attacking her were neighbors of her apartment building in Franklinton. At the end of the video, a fourth assailant, a woman, comes down the stairs and smacks the victim as well. CAIR-Ohio demanded Columbus police arrest those involved in the attack, which the advocacy group believes was a possible hate crime

As the attackers eventually disperse, one of the women kicks the victim while she is down. A fifth person in the video takes hold of one of the women assailants and leads her away from the victim between vehicles as the man in the video slams the victim's cellphone to the ground next to her, the video shows.

At the end of the video, the victim gets up and attempts to walk away when another woman who was not seen previously comes down the stairs. The video abruptly ends as that woman appears to be about to punch the Muslim woman.

"This attack is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of discrimination and hostility that marginalized communities face daily," Khalid Turaani, executive director of CAIR-Ohio, said in a prepared release.

Turaani, who met with the victim on Tuesday, said the victim related that the assailants are her neighbors, and that the assault stemmed out of the woman standing by the neighbors' car.

Columbus police officers who responded to the incident were "dismissive" and did not take the situation seriously, Turaani alleged. The victim, who is Somali, does not speak English and her daughter had to translate for her.

"The fact that nobody was arrested is concerning," said Turaani. "It is imperative that authorities act swiftly to ensure justice for the victim and her family and to demonstrate that Columbus will not tolerate such alleged acts of violence and intimidation."

Turaani demanded that Columbus police investigate the incident, review surveillance footage from the apartment complex and charge the attackers.

He also demanded that all Columbus Division of Police officers undergo cultural competency and sensitivity training to "ensure better engagement with immigrant and minority communities and for the appointment of a law enforcement liaison to work directly with immigrant communities."

A police report regarding the assault has been filed, Turaani said.

Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.